Generally, recent vehicles are usually equipped with various types of airbags installed at various locations to protect occupants. Among such airbags, a side airbag is required to satisfy Euro NCAP criteria or US NCAP criteria for an oblique test and to protect occupants sitting with various postures, especially in an autonomous vehicle.
In the event of a side impact or an oblique impact, it is necessary to protect the heads of occupants by preventing the bodies of the occupants from moving forward or sideways, i.e. by preventing a driver and a passenger in front seats from colliding with each other or with a vehicle body.
Moreover, when an autonomous vehicle in which an occupant is lying down or is stretched out on a reclined seat or is sitting in a seat with a seatbelt fastened thereto is impacted, it is necessary to prevent neck injuries from the seatbelt and to safely protect the occupant in any riding posture. Therefore, a side airbag that can satisfy the requirements described above is needed.
The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present invention, and is not intended to mean that the present invention falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art.